New Delhi: A day after a third consecutive brutal rape and murder case of a minor is reported from Surat after Kathua rape & murder case of an eight-year-old Muslim nomadic girl in Jammu’s region and also the Unnao rape case of a teenager thousands of people across the country protested against the heinous crime and justice for the victims on Sunday.
Sloganeering against the injustice towards the victims, demanding prosecution of accused in the rape cases, thousands of protesters marched with banners in Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Thiruvananthapuram, Bengaluru, Jammu and other cities, with few protestors exhibiting candlelight march, HT reported.
The third rape and murder reported revealed the minor was held captive, tortured and raped before being her brutal murder. The victim’s body had 86 injury marks reported the city police.
Several protestors have expressed their deep anger at the BJP governments failure to control the crimes, the protestors also alleged the BJP government is shielding the perpetrators and not bringing the accused to justice.
The kathua rape and murder case of a Muslim nomadic tribe girl from Jammu’s kathua region took as many as three months to come to public’s attention.
PM Modi finally broke his silence after three brutal rape and murder cases from across the country were reported. He called such crime in India as a shame for the nation while asserting the guilty will be brought to justice.
“I want to assure the nation that no criminal will be spared. Justice will be done. Our daughters will get justice. We all will have to work together to end this internal evil,” he said.
In was in the year 2012 when the brutal Nirbhaya Gang rape shook the country that led to stricter laws yet the crime rate is rapidly increasing spreading like fire across the nation.
As many as 500 people in Delhi gathered at the Parliament Street demanding immediate dismissal of Yogi government for allegedly shielding the accused Unnao MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengal. The people protested with ‘Not in My Name’ banners.
Delhi’s CM Arvind along with Delhi Commission for Women Chief Swati Maliwal also joined the protest.
Swati Maliwal is holding an indefinite hunger strike demanding establishments of fast-track courts to complete the trials in rape case within 6 months while Delhi Pradesh Youth Congress has also held a silent protest near the Rajiv Chowk metro station.
While in Jammu, people of different faiths demanded capital punishment of the accused in the rape and murder of Asifa.
The brutal rape and murder of Asifa sparked outrage in the state with people from different religions gathered at Bahu Plaza Park in Jammu with national flags to convey the message that
“we may come from different religions but we all are one against social crimes.”
In Uttar Pradesh social activists, theatre artists, students and volunteers gathered at the Gandhi statue near the general post office (GPO) on Sunday demanding culprits in the Unnao and Kathua rape cases are brought to justice.
One of participated Activist Deepak Kabir said: “A rapist can be a Hindu, Muslim, Dalit or Christian but we need to understand that he is a rapist. The fight is against patriarchy and we need to push it harder.”
Another social activist and Former vice-chancellor of Lucknow University, Prof Roop Rekha Verma said, “The Unnao and Kathua rape cases are not merely incidents of crime against women. It is a political matter where accused are being supported by top politicians of the country.”
“It is really shameful to see how the government is trying to protect rapists. If our leaders do so, how can we expect justice for victims,” asked one of the protestors.
Kerala state also witnessed widespread protests, candlelight marches in major cities.
Several others took to social media to condemn the crime and raise their voices against the crimes.
While in north Kerala, a journalist named his two-month-old daughter after the Kathua victim- Asifa and on the other hand, a writer asked his publishers to contribute all his royalty to the victim’s family.
In Madhya Pradesh, students of Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT) held candlelight protests in the capital Bhopal on Sunday evening.
Abid Husain, a protest participant, said, “No religious colour should be given to the gang rape incident in Jammu and Kashmir. We want the maximum punishment to the guilty so that it becomes an example for others.”
Several civil organisations had also called out for protest in Chandigarh to seek justice for the Kathua victim.
“Concerned Lawyers of Chandigarh” and the “Chandigarh Help Group” held the large protest in Chandigarh.
A city based advocate participating in the protest said, “We are demanding justice for the girl who was raped and killed in Kathua.”